What is the greatest common factor of $12$ and $3$ ? Another way to say this is: $\operatorname{gcf}(12, 3) = {?}$
The greatest common factor is the largest number that is a factor of both $12$ and $3$ The factors of $12$ are $1$ $2$ $3$ $4$ $6$ , and $12$ The factors of $3$ are $1$ and $3$ Thus, the greatest common factor of $12$ and $3$ is $3$. $\operatorname{gcf}(12, 3) = 3$